Apparently, in Richard Hammond’s section in The Mirror on Friday he came down on the side of those who run out of fuel on the motorway. He stated that, whilst an average of 43 people per day break down due to just that reason, he’s suprised that it isn’t many more and that the government should “force motorway service stations to sell fuel at a reasonable price”.
Whilst it’s true that some service stations charge much more than standard petrol stations, there’s also an element of personal responsibility here that just cannot be ignored. You wouldn’t take a journey on flat tyres, so why on Earth would you go on a section of road where traffic is travelling at significantly quicker speeds than anywhere else fully knowing that there’s a chance you may see the Fuel needle go past the red?
Short of some sort of personal catastrophe, I have no sympathy at all for those who run out of fuel on the motorway – and in fact it worries me that these people are behind the wheel. If a few pence is the cause for concern, drive to a town or village. Few other issues can provide an excuse for such a stupid reason for a stop.
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martin says
August 31, 2009 at 11:27 amExcellent post IMHO
Despite that I have myself run out of fuel but that was due to a faulty fuel sender unit so a decent excuse.
Mr Butterscotch says
August 31, 2009 at 11:36 amThanks Martin,
That’s something I should certainly add. Unfortunately, mechanical failure can strike any vehicle and as long as a driver ensures their car is properly maintained then I’d say it’s more than a justified reason for having to get on the hard shoulder!